Perhaps Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will remain on the West Coast past this season, after all.
MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that “some folks around baseball see the Dodgers…as the very early favorite for” Ohtani.
As Fabian Ardaya noted for The Athletic back on Nov. 28, the Dodgers “shed nearly $100 million in payroll” shortly after the 2022 campaign. Heyman added that “no one denies Ohtani’s impending free agency is one of the reasons (there seem to be many)” the Dodgers are keeping funds available.
Heyman isn’t alone. Earlier this week, league insider Robert Murray of Fansided named the Dodgers as the favorites to sign Ohtani after this season. Murray pointed out the Dodgers “were relatively inactive throughout this offseason” because “many anticipate that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is eyeing a major run at” the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player.
After agent Nez Balelo told reporters last month that Ohtani “earned the right to play through the year” and then explore free agency after the World Series, it was reported that the 28-year-old could ultimately receive a contract worth up to $600M if he hits the open market. Big-spending New York Mets owner Steve Cohen isn’t showing signs of running from his “World Series or bust” mentality anytime soon and, at the very least, could help drive Ohtani’s price up this coming fall.
Heyman explained back on Feb. 23 that Ohtani told the New York Yankees “He couldn’t go to New York five years ago.” Ohtani then “put five West Coast teams on his list of seven finalists.” While Heyman wrote at that time that Ohtani’s “handlers say he’s more geographically open now,” the two-time All-Star selection may welcome the opportunity to stay in the same market and jump to a more competitive team that happened to win 111 regular-season games in 2022.
Fellow generational player Mike Trout essentially admitted this past Monday that the Angels need to at least make the playoffs this season to have a chance of holding onto Ohtani. Trout may be correct, or Ohtani may already be leaning toward playing home games at Dodger Stadium in 2024.
